Holm Auto Good News: Salinans work together to make medical face shields

Charles Rankin @reporterrankin

Saturday

Apr 18, 2020 at 6:25 PM

After seeing a Wichita news broadcast about how regular citizens were using technology in the form of 3D printing to help during the COVID-19 pandemic, a man discovered he could do the same in Salina, and others have joined him.

Jimmie Pottberg said he reached out to Sgt. Ted Wisely, of the Wichita Police Department, who is leading the effort of printing face shields for first responders and health care workers in that city.

“I asked if they had any plans to expand ... to the rest of Kansas in general and the Salina area in particular,” Pottberg said.

Wisely told him that was beyond what was currently planned and he was in favor of Pottberg setting up a similar system in Salina. Pottberg has a printer himself and said he received a lot of guidance from Wisely on how to get started and be successful and useful like the Wichita group.

“We did not re-create the wheel here and were able to take advantage of their expertise,” Pottberg said.

Getting shields to those who need them

Pottberg said at first the group of three individuals and four organizations assembled 115 shields to give to groups in Salina and Saline County, all first responders and health care organizations that needed them. Within a week, there were two shields on every Salina Fire Department ambulance.

After these organizations in the county, Pottberg got connected with Saline County Emergency Management.

“(Emergency management) is getting 100 to distribute to the surrounding counties that are in desperate need of them,” Pottberg said.

Bernie Botson, deputy director of Saline County Emergency Management, said this work helps the region.

“I’ll deliver them to the emergency managers for each county,” Botson said. “Then they’ll distribute them to whoever needs them the most, because they know their people better than I do.”

He said the shields will be distributed to the north-central region of emergency management of Kansas.

“Basically, that’s from here to Nebraska, over to Lincoln County and over to Clay County,” Botson said.

Construction of the shield

Each shield is made of three parts, a clear visor that protects the wearer, the elastic strap for the back of the shield and the portion that’s printed, the plastic headband. The printing process takes a while.

“Depending on the printer, it takes three to five hours to print one of (them),” Pottberg said.

He said a company called Prusa, which makes 3D printers, developed a design for the headbands and allows anyone to use it as long as they are getting the shields to those who need them and not making a profit off them.

“These are being provided free of cost to (those who need them),” Pottberg said. “In fact, I will not sell these to anyone. They’re all going to the right people.”

The benefit of these shields

Botson said the good thing about a project like this is it is bringing a need during a time when supplies are low. Pre-made shields are not available.

“I can’t buy these anywhere” Botson said. “Things are just radically different now. The stockpile’s pretty much been dispersed.”

Another benefit of these shields is that they are reusable. Botson said in emergency management, a key item for supplies is the burn rate, or how much of something disposable is being used.

“With these, there’s no burn rate, because they can be disinfected,” Botson said.

Pottberg and Botson said these shields will probably last several weeks, if not months.

Botson said because of such limited supplies during this pandemic, governmental groups are getting help from the public in unique ways like this.

“Basically it’s the private sector and the general citizens that are being the solution to this problem,” Botson said. “Homegrown solutions are how we are going to get out of this.”

More than one person

While Pottberg led the charge in Salina to get these shields made, others in the community and elsewhere have been vital to the effort.

Besides Pottberg, Blake Slater and Cory Harvey, along with Kansas Wesleyan University, the Salina Public Library, Great Plains Manufacturing and Crestwood Inc. have been printing the headbands.